Also at your nearest Cracker Barrel.
Pssst…post #12. 
I don’t miss anything. I have a beautiful 7-foot tree with 1,250 lights, two woodburning fireplaces, a wonderful partner, two wonderful cats . . . and within the next couple of days, snow. And unlike last year, I’ve already tested my snow blower, so I’m ready.
And my chorus’ holiday concert is this weekend (3 performances!).
Just a little background of myself?
I was born and spent my childhood years in Sydney, Australia. My father decided to migrate in New Jersey for a private reason when I was at the age of 12. We’re staying in NJ until now. Last May 2003, I was married to my husband, Heinrick. We have two kids now. One is Martha and the other is Jollaine. They’re both pretty and smart like their dad. My husband is a programmer and also website developer. I’m working as a writer in one of the publishing company in NJ.
What do I miss about Christmas?
It’s our place in Australia and my grandmother whom I used to cry when my dad scold me. I miss my birthplace, my friends there.
I remember, every Christmas, my Mamita always told me to hang my stocking so that Sta. Clause would give me gifts.
It’s all about my Grand mother…I miss her a lot. She died last 2002:(
I miss buying toys for the young 'un, (who’s a young adult now and still fun to shop for, but in a different way). I remember the last time I went into Toys R Us to get a board game, and in the car I realized that the game was all I bought and there was nothing in that store I could buy for my little girl any more.:(. Heck, Christmas without kids is something I really really miss.
I also miss my grandmother, and I miss the great Christmas parties when I worked. I know ‘work’ and ‘Christmas parties’ are not a popular combination, but the company I worked for coughed up for lovely evenings at beautiful restaurants for their employees.
I miss being so excited about Christmas that I wouldn’t be able to go to sleep on Christmas Eve.
I miss multi-colored lights on the Christmas tree (my parents use the boring white ones because they’re more “elegant”).
I miss the days when I didn’t have to worry about anything except showing up at the Christmas tree in my footie pajamas, all ready to open any present with my name on it.
Well, I can’t speak for all American’s of Slovak descent, but Christmas Eve means abstaining from red meat. We have 7 things for dinner: fried cod, mushroom gravy, kapusta (sauerkraut) sauce, pirohy (dumplings stuffed with potatoes and cheese), oplatki (Christmas wafers), dried peas (we don’t do the dried peas anymore, just a veggie), pagach (bread stuffed with potatoes and cheese and sometimes fried cabbage). For dessert we have tons of cookies and kolach (pastry with nut, apricot, or poppyseed filling.)
We always went to midnight mass and yes, they ring all the bells at midnight.
Don’t remember ever reading the bible, but mom still digs out the Slovak Christmas albums to play on the stereo.
Going out to the farm. Hanging out and playing with the cousins while the adults sat around drinking and talked then eating a HUGE meal until we were nearly sick from food. Then Santa would come and give us little presents and us teasing Uncle Alan that he completely missed Santa’s visit, where the heck was he? Then after dishes were done the finger food would come out (meats, cheeses, buns and pickles and a million desserts) and some board games or more talking and playing until we left family by family to drive home.
I get to have fun with the wonder of Christmas now as my son is only 5 (6 soon!). We’ve yet to dig out the decorations but will shortly and I have Reindeer food this year to throw on the lawn so the reindeer can find us…